At a luxury villa in the Moroccan desert, an international brokerage firm hosted getaways for Libyans connected to the country's oil-rich sovereign-wealth funds. The men spent their days lounging poolside and nights partying at clubs in Marrakesh.

The jaunts were part of a campaign by Tradition Financial Services of Switzerland to win business in Moammar Gadhafi's Libya, an effort that included hiring relatives of senior Libyan officials, according to people who attended and to former employees of the firm.